Chapter 73: N+1 Regressor of the Post-Apocalypse
by Afuhfuihgs‘Saving Yoo Da-hee’, newly reborn as a VR game.
The main heroine of that game, and the only key to saving this dying world.
Saintess Yoo Da-hee.
Right after reuniting with Yoo Da-hee, Summer stepped into the alley of an abandoned house located on the outskirts of the quiet village.
Even on the way here, battles with monsters occurred.
One or two wolves were fine, but when five or six goblins popped out simultaneously, Summer’s mind went dizzy.
Multiple weak enemies are far trickier than one strong enemy.
The combat in ‘Saving Yoo Da-hee’ combines real-time Souls-like mechanics with the dice system unique to TRPGs.
The damage calculation when taking or dealing damage is determined by the value rolled on a random 100-sided die.
Basically, if you block well, dodge well, and hit well, there’s no problem.
But if your dice luck is bad, it gets a bit tiring.
Having to hit two or three times what should have been a one-hit kill.
Or accidentally getting hit by a blind stone thrown by a baby goblin, which turns out to be a critical hit, putting you immediately into a near-death state.
Just now, Summer had overcome near-death situations several times.
A stray arrow flew towards Yoo Da-hee, so she threw herself in front of it casually, only for it to register as a critical hit, nearly killing her.
Despite going through such hardships, instead of getting out of the village, she ended up going deeper inside.
According to the original strategy scenario she had prepared, she would have already led Yoo Da-hee out of the village semi-forcefully using the early game trick.
But now, she couldn’t bring herself to do that.
‘Of all things, she had to be designed perfectly in the middle of my strike zone…’
Yoo Da-hee felt too real to be just an NPC, even evoking a sense of familiarity, making her feel strongly that she must protect her somehow.
Summer was that deeply immersed in this world.
To fully savor this world, she had already minimized all HUD elements.
Donations were blocked long ago, and even the chat window was minimized.
The current Summer has no intention of communicating with viewers. As a streamer, she’s practically disqualified.
[Current Viewers – 10,326]
Nevertheless, the viewer count finally hit five digits.
That’s how vivid the world Summer was showing is.
‘Uwaaaah! Seriously Jina Mama!! Just how much soul did you pour into making this game!!’
Saying her plans were all messed up, Summer let out a smirk internally.
Though her mouth sang ‘I’m ruined, I’m ruined-‘, her expression was bright.
Even though things weren’t going well, the game itself is incredibly fun.
‘If it really doesn’t work out, I should just screw around with a Yoo Da-hee dating simulation.’
Summer glanced at Yoo Da-hee.
Her clothes were shabby and covered in dust, but her eyes sparkled.
That gaze, fixed solely on her for a while, was so clear that Summer unknowingly swallowed dryly.
Just then, Yoo Da-hee’s small lips slowly parted.
“…I think it’s best to leave the village.”
Anxiety and guilt mixed in her voice.
Watching Summer fight monsters, she seemed to have concluded that she shouldn’t stay here any longer.
Although it took a much longer route, Summer eventually succeeded in clearing the guilt route she had initially planned.
If there was a difference from playing the original ChatRPG way.
Perhaps Yoo Da-hee’s resolve felt a bit firmer.
“Come to think of it… you kept protecting me, but I didn’t even ask for your name. Who are you, benefactor-nim?”
“…Right.”
Summer realized her mistake.
Come to think of it, they hadn’t even exchanged names until now.
In ‘Saving Yoo Da-hee’, introducing oneself to Yoo Da-hee was extremely important.
It wasn’t just about deciding what Yoo Da-hee would call her.
It was also about determining her profession and identity in this world.
In RPG terms, Summer had been hunting as a beginner without even changing her class until now.
“I’m… Summer.”
Surprised even herself by how smoothly the voice came out, Summer squeezed her eyes shut.
‘I’m not some lovesick teenage boy facing his first love, what on earth am I doing,’ she thought.
The chat window was probably having a field day teasing Summer.
Saying this is the first time seeing her like this.
“Summer… That’s a wonderful name. If it’s not rude, may I ask what you do?”
“I am…”
‘I am the hero entrusted with the mission to protect this world.’
‘Together with you, the Saintess, I wish to embark on a journey to protect this world.’
It was a line she had typed over hundreds of times, to the point where she had practically memorized it.
But trying to actually say it out loud… felt incredibly awkward.
‘What? Hero?’
‘…Someone like me?’
Setting aside the cringe factor.
She felt a strange sense of guilt, like she was deceiving Yoo Da-hee.
Even though she knew she wasn’t a real person, but an AI.
Summer scratched her head as if tearing her hair out, then finally sighed and spoke.
“Just, you know, an ordinary bard wandering here and there.”
As soon as Summer finished speaking, a lute popped out behind her back.
Thus, Summer became the last wandering bard of the dying world.
“The world’s destruction, things like that are too complicated, I don’t really know…”
Summer smiled brightly and extended her hand towards Yoo Da-hee.
“Shall we just look around here and there?”
Yoo Da-hee, with a faint smile, took the hand Summer offered.
“Yes, okay.”
Summer pulled Yoo Da-hee’s hand.
Fortunately, Yoo Da-hee’s arm didn’t tear off this time.
It was a relief she wasn’t a ‘super strong hero’ or anything like that.
Summer and Yoo Da-hee left the village and walked along an old forest path.
Completely neglected fields and cracked stone bridges continued.
In the distance, a building resembling a broken tower could be seen.
“To prevent the world’s destruction, we should find some kind of sanctuary…”
She wasn’t just walking aimlessly wherever her feet took her.
Although this was her first playthrough of the VR TRPG, Summer had regressed hundreds of times in ChatRPG, so she knew the general strategy.
Looking around, Summer found a clue related to the sanctuary on the roadside near an old, fallen signpost.
Suppressing the urge to shout ‘I’ve played this game before!’, Summer followed the direction indicated by the fallen signpost’s arrow.
She didn’t know how many times she had died to figure this out.
After walking and walking, a forest shrouded in dark fog appeared.
A small building could be seen between the trees.
A collapsed sign hung above the entrance, and moss even covered the stone steps leading into the building.
This was the ‘first dungeon’ that Summer had designed through chat.
‘Wow, Jina Mama’s detail is really insane.’
The scenery before her eyes was exactly as Summer had pictured it, no, even better.
It was a realism she couldn’t feel through illustrations.
After giving high praise to the god who created this world, Summer headed straight for the building.
Inside lies the first key that reveals the path to the sanctuary.
“A-are you going… in here…?”
A slight tremor was felt in Yoo Da-hee’s voice.
“Somehow, I feel like we shouldn’t go in…”
This was a reaction set by the game system.
Originally, one had to gather minor clues to find out that the first key existed inside that building.
But Summer, the N+1th regressor, skipped all those complicated processes and came straight to the dungeon.
To impose at least some restriction on this kind of play, skipping certain gimmicks based on previous playthrough experience.
Rosy added a gimmick to Yoo Da-hee’s language pattern.
If the player tries to enter an unfamiliar place without reason, Yoo Da-hee stops them.
It was a divine move that secured both plausibility and gameplay.
Here, the user had to choose.
Either obediently turn back and gather clues one by one.
Or persuade Yoo Da-hee.
“Yoo Da-hee-ssi. Don’t you think there might be something interesting inside?”
“…Yes?”
Coincidentally, in this world, Summer’s RP is a bard.
“Honestly, you’re curious, right? About what might pop out from inside.”
“…”
Threats, deception, persuasion, criticism, praise, instigation, convincing.
Besides that, various other things.
“Well, I know you’re scared because there might be some rough guys inside~ Don’t worry.”
To all verbal actions, the highest correction value is attached.
“Whatever pops out, I’ll definitely protect you.”
“…Pfft! Summer-ssi, you’re quite an interesting person.”
The so-called ‘Mouth Fighter’.
“Okay, let’s try going in.”
In the end, Yoo Da-hee couldn’t withstand Summer’s art of persuasion and nodded her head.
This Saintess is surprisingly an easy woman.
Summer took the lead and started climbing the stone steps.
The inside of the building was larger than expected.
Old sacred objects were scattered messily in a place reminiscent of a medieval fantasy mansion, and shattered wooden boxes lay everywhere.
And as expected.
Several aberrant beings holding worn clubs, staves, and rusty swords appeared.
Looking like humanoid monsters, they were the ‘Corrupted Devotees’ that Summer had used very well as enemy mobs in ChatRPG.
The reason for making the enemy forms humanoid?
Obviously.
“It’s easy to identify the vitals.”
Summer muttered to herself and drew her bowstring.
A meaningful monologue.
An appeal that she knows where the enemy’s vitals are.
Each ‘evidence’ like this gathers to give a correction value to the critical hit probability.
“First, the ones that look like mages…”
As Summer held her breath to shoot a wind arrow.
Yoo Da-hee gently tapped Summer’s shoulder with her fingertip.
“Um… Summer-ssi. Are you really okay? There seem to be too many of them…”
Summer paused for a moment.
Yoo Da-hee’s worried gaze and voice struck Summer’s heart directly.
‘Hmm, thrilling. Very new.’
‘This is the taste of VR.’
“Of course, I’m fine~ Saintess, don’t worry about anything.”
Summer grinned and released the bowstring.
Green wind shot out rapidly, piercing the heads of the staff-wielding devotees.
Only the devotees specialized in close combat remained.
Summer shot arrows again, felling the approaching devotees.
The devotees who approached right in front, leaving their comrades’ corpses behind.
‘The first attack is definitely a downward strike.’
Summer dropped the bow to the floor, gripped the rapier in her hand, and prepared for close combat.
‘If it’s Jina Mama, she definitely would have set the sword’s hitbox ridiculously tight…’
Just at the moment the devotee struck down with the sword, Summer input the dodge command.
Simultaneously, she vigorously stabbed the opponent’s exposed flank.
Pook- Along with the exaggerated sound effect, a heavy vibration is transmitted through her fingertips.
The feel in her hand is very satisfying.
“I told you, right? Whatever appears here, I’ll definitely protect you.”
After dealing with the remaining approaching enemies in the same way, Summer turned her head towards Yoo Da-hee and grinned.
“So you just enjoy it.”
The N+1th regressor is properly fawning over the heroine of this world.
“…Yes!”
Yoo Da-hee blushed and nodded with a lovely expression.
It’s truly a shame that Summer’s avatar happens to be female.
…No, perhaps it’s better because she’s a female character?
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